Horticultural Studies (HortiS) 2017, Vol 34, Num, 1     (Pages: 61-71)

Use of infrared thermometer technique in irrigation scheduling of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) plant

Begüm TEKELİOĞLU 1 ,Dursun BÜYÜKTAŞ 1 ,Cihan KARACA 1 ,Ruhi BAŞTUĞ 1 ,Nazmi DİNÇ 2 ,Köksal AYDİNŞAKİR 2

1 Akdeniz Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Tarımsal Yapılar ve Sulama Bölümü, Antalya
2 Batı Akdeniz Tarımsal Araştırma Enstitüsü, Antalya
DOI : 10.16882/derim.2017.305480 Viewed : 1696 - Downloaded : 743 The main objectives of this study are to assess crop water stress index (CWSI) and to determine irrigation schedule of pomegranate using infrared thermometer technique. Treatments with three replications were irrigated every three and six days intervals, as much as 0.50 (S1), 0.75 (S2), 1.00 (S3), and 1.25 (S4) of Class A pan evaporation. Additionally, an unirrigated plot was also formed. The equations obtained for non-water stress baseline is Tc-Ta=0.645VPD-4.338. The equation of full water stressed upper baseline obtained from data taken from branches of pomegranate plant cut in different days is given by Tc-Ta= 0.0489VPD+2.8734. According to the results obtained, it is concluded that infrared thermometer can be used for irrigation scheduling of the pomegranate plants in Antalya conditions. When using this technique in Antalya conditions, it is suggested to keep the seasonal mean CWSI value approximately 0.12 and the index value of 0.40 can be used to start the irrigation. Additionally, it is suggested that the amount of irrigation can be determined as much as the amount of evaporation measured until the index value reaches 0.40. Keywords : Crop water stress index, Pan evaporation, Irrigation interval, Irrigation scheduling